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Chapter 3: Observations from U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou
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complement my research, I was able to participate in and observe Consulate-organized events. The conclusions gained from this research project will serve as a supplement to my main thesis, adding an extra perspective to the current state of China’s educational exchange with the U.S.
Online Observations
The two Chinese forums I monitored differed greatly in writing style and
presentation, but followed a similar vein of content. Rather than focus on the “why” of studying abroad, most content focused on the “how.” Here, “why” refers to the
underlying educational and vocational opportunities that make up the decision to study abroad, while “how” refers to the nuts and bolts of university admission, the visa process, etc.
I found that the few articles about underlying motivations to study abroad were either personal negative experiences or sly jabs at the Chinese educational system. One student writes about how while staying up all night for days on end studying for the writing section of the GRE, “life goes on, movies are still released, and there’s still an empty seat at the banquet table.” The student then goes on to call out to all the other
“students struggling upwards,” encouraging them to continue in hopes of a better future. These kinds of experiences were commonplace, and many confirm Chinese families’ fears of lonely lives abroad, sentiments that are echoed in my primary interview responses. Another student sends out a warning cry, cautioning other study abroad applicants to look closely at the schools they are applying to. 野鸡大学 (yeji
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daxue), or what is slang for “unregistered colleges,” are rampant in America. These colleges entice wealthy foreign students with low admission standards, who then arrive, only to learn little practical knowledge and end up like the student who originally
started the thread. She arrived with the hopes of a prestigious internship and ended up in a hotel washing dishes. The negative experiences observed online reflect Chinese students’ individual negative encounters with American culture and education, as well as a lack of accountability in implementation of foreign exchange programs and policies.
Other articles that offered insight into students’ underlying motivations to study abroad were described new aspects of the disparities between the American and Chinese educational systems. One article points out that Chinese schools offer a better quality education than American schools in elementary school and middle school, a theme that was also confirmed by my interview participants. The difference in quality begins in high school, where Chinese high schools dedicate the bulk of instruction time to preparing for the gaokao, or college entrance exam, and lack the advanced level courses, extracurricular activities, and cooperation with outside organizations that American high schools boast (“美国中小学如此 ‘糟糕’ 为什么美国大学那么牛”, 2014).
Another article entitled “Why America’s Top Tier College Students Don’t Loaf Around”
describes how an American college education, unlike a Chinese college education, requires integration of classwork and research (“为什么美国顶尖大学的学生很少偷 懒”, 2014). These types of articles offer a fresh angle on the benefits of an international education, a phenomenon that many Chinese students have already internalized.
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However, most online posts were about mundane details of the college application and visa application processes. Forums were crawling with sample cover letters, résumés, and research proposals and even served as a sort of market for buying pre-written application components. Furthermore, online you can find secrets to acing the TOEFL and SAT, as well as tips for how to become a better-rounded applicant. For some Chinese students it came as a shock that test scores alone may not be enough to gain admission to an American university. Other articles advised students on choosing a major. One in particular emphasized the quality of research and study in STEM fields at American institutions, harping on the ability for these fields to secure future job
prospects and higher salaries, but at the same time stressing that choosing one’s major area of study is a family decision, not an individual decision. Others offered tips on securing a student visa, tailored to specific consulates or embassies, making claims like,
“the girl with the blonde hair is mean. You’ll have better luck if you go to the window with the older man with glasses.” These small chat room posts by themselves only reflect the ramblings of one parent or the bundled up nerves of an overstressed college student. But grouped together and analyzed from a macroscopic point of view, they indicate widespread concerns with foreign exchange and potential cultural clashes starting with the application process.
Interview Observations
During my internship at the Consulate, I was given the opportunity to go to Sun Yat-sen University, one of China’s top tier universities in Guangzhou, to do field research
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through student interviews. I approached students on campus and asked if they would be willing to voluntarily participate in a short interview for a study on Chinese study abroad trends. Please note that these were abbreviated interviews tailored to this specific summer project and serve as a supplement to my primary interviews in Chapter 4. I gathered eight total interviews from students with varying hometowns, ages, and educational backgrounds and asked questions about study abroad plans, perceived differences in education systems and cultures, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad. These interviews yielded valuable anecdotal
information about current students’ outlooks on studying abroad in the United States, as well as the perceived similarities and differences between the American and Chinese style education systems.
First and foremost, I found that students’ outlooks towards studying abroad in the U.S. are more negative than I expected. Of the eight students I interviewed, only three confirmed that they were planning on studying abroad in the U.S. Three had no plans whatsoever to study abroad, one said he had not yet decided, and one said he planned to study abroad in France after being disappointed with the overall value of an American education. Because my interviews in Chapter 4 sought out students who had either already participated in a foreign exchange program or were actively preparing to, these students’ responses help fill a gap in my research. A fifty percent rate of students studying abroad is astronomical. In 2013, China was producing 8 million college
graduates per year, with just over 694,000 students abroad, meaning approximately 8.7 percent of all Chinese college students studied abroad (Bradsher, 2013; “Global Flow of
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Tertiary Level Students”, 2014). Data gained from these eight students alone is by no means statistically relevant. However, the reasoning these students used to justify their decisions pointed to the beginning of the U.S.’s decline in dominance as a single study abroad destination for Chinese students. That being said, most students still recognize the value of a Western university education, more specifically an American university education compared to a Chinese university education. Six out of eight interviewees brought up the freedom of thought, critical thinking, and creativity that the American education system fosters, in stark contrast to the Chinese university system that tends to crush creativity and encourage rote memorization. One student put it best stating,
“With a Western style education, students are able to look at a problem from all angles and their minds are more active. But in China, there’s a standardized track for all students that leads to more standardized thinking.”
However, a more interesting finding was that an overly positive outlook on American education and discontent with the Chinese education system did not necessarily manifest itself in the decision to study abroad. Other economic factors played a more important role. The student who had not yet decided on whether to study abroad expressed his doubts, stating, “Even if you study abroad, these days you won’t necessarily find a good job. You don’t have the same amount of time with your family members or classmates to make those connections as other people who stay in China do. Plus, with more and more people going abroad the benefits are shrinking.”
This statement reflects China’s competitive job market that is being flooded with qualified applicants, most of whom have experience abroad. Students are doubtful
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about the opportunity costs of spending so much money on a Western education which does not necessarily guarantee a job, and which in some respects, may even hinder their career development. Others are more optimistic about the future of China’s education system. Many qualify that the problem lies not in the university education itself, but in the university entrance system, namely the gaokao.
My overall conclusion from these interviews is that students’ final decisions are rooted in an economic choice. If a student is fortunate enough to afford the costs of attending an American university as part of a foreign exchange program, he/she is still likely to take advantage of such an opportunity. Plus, as the Chinese middle class grows, so does the number of Chinese students that have the economic resources to go abroad.
What one interviewee termed “the Chinese American dream”, or 中国人的美国梦 (zhongguo ren de meiguo meng), still exists. But unlike in past years when an education abroad guaranteed an affluent future, students are beginning to doubt the value of the benefits of an American education.
Remarks from Consulate Events
While in Guangzhou, I volunteered for multiple events catered to Chinese students wanting to learn more about American culture. One was a large event that served as a sort of pre-departure course for students preparing to study in the United States in the fall. The others were twice weekly “open hours” events that welcomed students to come freely into the Consulate’s Information Resource Center and read in the library, practice English, or ask questions about the United States. It is important to
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note that this is a biased pool of the Chinese populace. These students were individually motivated to seek out the American Consulate, and thus they represent a portion of the Chinese population that already has a special interest in the West. With this in mind, I noted a few prominent trends in the groups of students that passed through the Consulate doors.
First, the age ratio of the participants confirmed what the Chinese refer to as the
“lowering age trend,” or dilinghua qushi, (低龄化趋势). Take the pre-departure
orientation for example. There were approximately 75 students in attendance, ranging from middle-school aged students with nervous parents to middle-aged PhD candidates preparing to embark on specialized research programs. However, the former age group was more prevalent. Though I did not have the chance to ask each and every student his or her age and study abroad program level, the majority of the inquiries during the event’s question-and-answer session were about America’s high school and
undergraduate education. Previously, studying abroad was reserved for graduate students, but now with widespread English education and knowledge that attending grade-school in the United States is beneficial when applying to colleges in the United States, more students are taking advantage of opportunities to go abroad earlier.
Additionally, through both the pre-departure orientation and the Information Resource Center open hours, I discovered that misconceptions about American life are wide and varied among Chinese college students. After the orientation, I was
approached by one student who wanted to know if life for all Americans was like life on the popular television series, “Two Broke Girls.” During open hours, another student
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expressed his opinions on corruption within the American government. Rather than cite events or trials that have taken place recently, the student referred to the “intrusive product placement” in American movies like “Transformers” that are released in China.
“America may not be as corrupt as China,” he said, “But this proves that everyone can be bought off.”
These two fairly general observations do little to statistically prove China’s overall image of America, but they do provide valuable insight into a small portion of what will eventually be the next audience for Sino-American cultural exchange. Chinese students are exposed to American culture at an increasingly young age, but through channels that may or may not broadcast reliable information, which is especially true considering China’s extensive censorship system. Thus, students’ impressions of the United States and decisions on whether or not to study abroad in the United States may be based on something as insignificant as one sitcom the student happens to watch religiously. These misconceptions may lead to surprising or negative experiences after arrival in the United States as mentioned above, or may dissuade students from
studying abroad altogether. What the responses at these events do prove is that there is a need for continued cultural exchange between Chinese and American youth to correct these false premises.
Reflections
Although the Chinese university system is slowly changing, decreasing the emphasis on test scores and encouraging more creativity and critical thinking,
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underlying economic factors are the primary consideration when students make their decisions to study abroad, namely a competitive edge in the job search, no matter how slim an edge that may be. Originally, the prevailing study abroad trend among Chinese students was to go to the U.S. for a post-graduate education, a phenomenon that still exists. However, now students are going abroad younger and younger if they can afford it. This is a fundamental shift. Rather than sacrificing everything for an education abroad, students are now more objective about the overall value of a foreign education.
Furthermore, if a student chooses to study abroad, the U.S. is no longer an automatic first choice, a trend that is reflected in my primary interviews. This is not to say that the U.S. does not still represent Chinese students’ primary study abroad
destination. According to UNESCO’s Global Flow of Tertiary- Level Students data set, out of 694, 365 total Chinese students abroad, 210, 452 chose to study in the U.S., followed by Japan with a distant 96,592 Chinese students and Australia with 87,497 Chinese students (2014). However, analysis of statistics summarized in Table 3 showing the changes in Chinese students’ top study abroad destinations, as well as their percentage of all foreign students in the U.S. shows that the craze to study abroad in the U.S.
exclusively is beginning to diminish.
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2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
% total Chinese students abroad in the U.S.
22.3 27.5 30.3 30.3 n.a.
Chinese foreign exchange student % total of foreign exchange students in the U.S.
18.5 21.8 25.4 28.7 31
Table 3: Chinese Foreign Exchange Students in the U.S.5
The emerging slowdown of the flood of Chinese students into the U.S. is multifaceted. Although the American education system still maintains a high level of respect, there is an emerging negative response to its high costs, the quality of life for foreign exchange students, and some of its universities’ questionable quality of education. At the same time, students still remain hopeful about their abilities to succeed within China’s education system. Chapter 4 will offer a more in-depth interview based analysis on some of the conclusions posed in this chapter.
5 The first row shows the percentage of the total number of Chinese students who studied abroad that decided to go the U.S. The second row shows the number of Chinese students in the U.S. as a percentage of all foreign students in the U.S. Both measures show that the U.S. still maintains its role as the number one study abroad destination for Chinese student, but that the number of Chinese students who study in the U.S. is tapering off. Statistics were compiled from both UNESCO’s Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students and the Institute for International Education’s Open Doors Data Report. “N.a.” indicates data was not available.
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